of the fortress of Sagres,
which was built by the deceased Don Henry on Cape St Vincent, the
Portuguese named this point Cape Sagres of Guinea. According to the
account of the Sailors, the inhabitants of this coast are idolaters,
worshipping wooden images in the shape of men, before which they make
offerings of victuals as often as they eat or drink. These people are
more of a tawny colour than black, having marks on their faces and bodies
made with hot irons. They go almost entirely naked, except that they wear
pieces of the bark of trees before them. They have no arms, as there is
no iron in their country. They live on rice, millet, beans, and kidney
beans, larger than ours; and have also beef and goats flesh, but not in
any great abundance. Near to Cape Sagres there are several very small
uninhabited islands.

The inhabitants of this river have large almadias, carrying from thirty
to forty men, who row standing, without having their oars fixed to any
thing, as formerly noticed. They have their ears pierced with many holes,
in which they wear a variety of gold rings. Both men and women have also
a hole through the cartilage of the nose, in which they wear a gold ring,
just like that of iron in the noses of our buffalos, which they take out
when eating. The ladies belonging to the kings and great men, by way of
extraordinary grandeur, have gold rings on other parts of their body,
which decorum prevents us from particularizing.

Passing Cape Sagres, they sailed about forty miles farther along the coast,
and came to the Rio de San Vincents, which is about four miles wide; and
about five miles farther they found another, which they called Rio Verde,
larger at the mouth than the former[5]. Both of these rivers were so named
by the sailors in the caravels. About twenty-four miles beyond the Rio
Verde, they came to another cape which they called _Cape Liedo_,
signifying the _cheerful_, because of the beautifully verdant country in
its neighbourhood[6]. From Cape Liedo there extends a large mountain for
about fifty miles along the coast, all of which is very high, and covered
with tall verdant trees. At the end of this mountain, and about eight
miles from the shore, there are three small islands, the largest of which
does not exceed ten or twelve miles in circumference. To these the sailors
gave the name of _Saluezze_[7]; and they named the mountain _Sierra Leona_,
or the Lion Mountain, on account of the continual roaring of